Saturday, July 28, 2012

The table below shows that most grants of a DPB are to people transferring within the system or who have been on welfare previously - 71 percent to be precise.
I asked the Minister under the Official Information Act:

1/ In 2011 how many second-time or subsequent grants for the DPB were to a caregiver with more than one dependent child; a youngest child under 12 months old and who had been off benefit for between 12 - 48 months?
Their answer:

The point of my question? I am trying to ascertain how many people will qualify for a further 5 years of welfare before work-testing because they had a subsequent child off welfare. 437 is a starting figure.

Not included in this figure is for instance someone who left under 12 months ago and returned with a newborn.

The Ministry also qualified my 'off benefit' as 'off DPB-related' which also narrows the field.

The point is, as it stands, as long as a baby isn't added to a benefit the caregiver won't be work-tested until the baby is 5. Some people are clever. They have already forced the Ministry to pay the DPB to both parents if the parents split custody of their children. So there are two benefits to play around with when considering which one to 'add' a subsequent child to.

As in any group of people, there are those who will abide by the rules because they are honest and well-motivated, and that includes people on welfare. But there are others who will play the system for all it's worth. Ironically those are the very people these new rules are supposed to positively influence.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Here's a perfect example of people using a benefit as camouflage (albeit not a very successful one). I mean they surely didn't need the money.

Three solo mothers, one of whom is known locally as "the queen of
green" and is seven months pregnant, have been sent to prison for a
cannabis operation that netted them up to $340,000 in four months last
year for selling "tinnies" from a state house in Napier.
A "tinny" is a small tinfoil-wrapped package containing between 0.6 and 1.2 grams of cannabis, which sells for about $20.
Business was so good during the four months that they sold a $20
tinny every minute and the number of customers so great that their cars
would clog up the street......
The four offenders, who are all beneficiaries, appeared for sentencing
before Judge Tony Adeane in Napier District Court last week.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Some people on the dole fail drug-tests and subsequently miss out on a job. So they stay on welfare. Is that OK? The current government doesn’t think so. That’s why new
legislation proposes sanctions – a reduction in benefit – when it
happens.

The legislation does not propose drug-testing all beneficiaries as a
condition of eligibility for ongoing support. That’s jungle drum stuff.
There’s another problem with benefits and substance abuse though.

Comments policy

About Me

Lindsay Mitchell has been researching and commenting on welfare since 2001. Many of her articles have been published in mainstream media and she has appeared on radio,tv and before select committees discussing issues relating to welfare. Lindsay is also an artist who works under commission and exhibits at Wellington, New Zealand, galleries.